Deprived area primary school

[FreshCop]

If you had a choice would you put your child in a good/outstanding school in a deprived area?

Teachers will be excellent and do their best. However parent attitudes aren’t the best and probably a lot of chaotic home lives.

Or would you rather travel further to get your child in a school in a better area with more supportive parents interested in their child’s education?

Also if you’re a teacher it would be great to hear your perspective too.

What a lot of rude assumptions. Presumably if you live in the area what's to stop most of the parents being like you. Just because it's a deprived area doesn't mean parents don't care about education.

Christ how judgemental.

What a lot of rude assumptions. Presumably if you live in the area what's to stop most of the parents being like you. Just because it's a deprived area doesn't mean parents don't care about education.

its not rude at all. It’s just a fact a large amount of local parents have a bad attitude towards education and aren’t very involved at all.

My choice would be somewhere in the middle. Not great if teachers battling with disinterested parents but I think that's the minority. Pushy elbow parents are painful tho too at times and loads are often then tutored on top so inflated school results.
Some of the loveliest schools I've been to are in very deprived areas.

I have done, as it was the school with space when we moved. It was a lovely place, parents cared a lot. The education was the same level

It did spend funds, especially PTA funds differently. They would walk the 30mins to the pool for swimming lessons, not use a bus. They did cake sales etc to get money to make school trips cheaper. In lockdown, there were no live lessons as they knew that families shared devices, and operated their food bank for the "just above fsm" families that were struggling, and giving out sim cards so pupils could access work and printing out workpacks. They knew the problems the families had and prioritised them.

Or would you rather travel further to get your child in a school in a better area with more supportive parents interested in their child’s education?

withoit hesitation. And precisely what I did do

I don’t give a hoot re what’s politically correct when it comes to my children’s education

I don’t agree that education is something that paying for should be an option.

My son was offered a 60% scholarship. I put aside my own views and grabbed with both hands!

It depends.

Lots of primary schools in London in deprived areas that are rated good and outstanding and have middle classed parents and working class parents very much into their childs education. So it depends where the deprived area is.

You'll pay a premium to live in area more 'nice' area, so if you can afford it its Self-fulfilling. If you can afford private, you might do that.

If you live in a deprived area, seems like a long shot to get your DC in a state school over in a nice area , of course again depends on the area, in London deprived and nice sit cheek by jowl

For some parents the choice isn't there, you do whatever is best for you and what you can budget for.

I think this depends so much on the schools concerned and the individual child. For what it's worth, I sent my 3 DCs to a primary in a deprived area after having visited the school and finding the headteacher and the school ethos very sympathetic. I have also worked in a school in a deprived area with an excellent head and staff, but I don't think it would have suited my DCs. Have you visited the schools OP? I think it's really important to assess any school with regards to your particular child and so it's difficult to generalise. Good luck with whatever you decide.

withoit hesitation. And precisely what I did do

@Oddieconvert thanks for sharing, how do you feel your son has benefited if I can ask?

I’m now seriously considering doing this.

Well he got a scholarship!

His peers were competitive and there was a real ‘can do’ and focussed atmosphere.

and there’s no escaping that sadly that can of attitude is more prevalent in affluent areas.

Plus the deprived area school had many pupils where English was not first language, so teacher has hurdles to overcome before even hitting the curriculum

"Lots of primary schools in London in deprived areas that are rated good and outstanding and have middle classed parents and working class parents very much into their childs education. So it depends where the deprived area is."

I think that is a really good point Doubtmyself

Or would you rather travel further to get your child in a school in a better area with more supportive parents interested in their child’s education?
Yes, definitely. My sister taught in an outstanding primary school in a deprived area. The school offered an excellent education and got lots of extra funding for SEN and for pupils on free school meals etc, but the stories she told were horrible. Children finding syringes near the school, lots of parents shoplifting, parents in prison, children coming to school dirty, children whose parents had never worked.

I think this depends so much on the schools concerned and the individual child. For what it's worth, I sent my 3 DCs to a primary in a deprived area after having visited the school and finding the headteacher and the school ethos very sympathetic. I have also worked in a school in a deprived area with an excellent head and staff, but I don't think it would have suited my DCs.

@Boiledeggandtoast yes I’ve visited both, I would also say the head and staff really are excellent at both, I 100% think they will be doing the best job they can with all the issues they also have to contend with. However, home life has a massive influence on childrens attitudes doesn’t it?

We are in the catchment of one of the most deprived areas in a northern city so a lot of families with no confidence getting involved in education, crime families and children battling all sorts of unstable home lives. I’ve seen a few parents also who look like they’re on serious drugs too and swearing a lot at the school gates is common place amongst some mums.

I just think having high aspirations matter. I know another school much further away near universities and hospitals and a lot of the pupils will be parents working or studying nearby. So presumably I’ll have more in common with them.

Your last post…. No brainer to me

Children finding syringes near the school, lots of parents shoplifting, parents in prison, children coming to school dirty, children whose parents had never worked.

yes to all the above, I have seen some parents who look like they’re on heroin, one lady who shot up round the corner from the school and was passed out on the pavement for which I had to call an ambulance, people dogging in front of the school first thing one morning, the deputy head came out of the school to bang on the car asking them to go away.

One lady phoned her child’s father in prison at the school gates and also talks about prison visits. Generational unemployment or criminal families being nothing out of the ordinary.

Some children turning up filthy too.

Your last post…. No brainer to me

@Oddieconvert thank you, sometimes it’s just good to have a sounding board and other input to make your decision.

What is baffling is that you’d even consider this school for a nano second

His peers were competitive and there was a real ‘can do’ and focussed atmosphere.
**
and there’s no escaping that sadly that can of attitude is more prevalent in affluent areas.

@Oddieconvert I think attitude is so important and expectations to achieve is what I’m looking for. The school I am considering does have a lot of English not as a first language due to parents being international students as the school is near a university and is an international school?

Not sure if teaching English will be a battle in this instance. Maybe it will… but it’s better than local deprived people who bring all their problems with them I am thinking.

Have you visited the schools OP? I think it's really important to assess any school with regards to your particular child and so it's difficult to generalise. Good luck with whatever you decide.

@Boiledeggandtoast Ive visited nearly all my options now. The reason why I’m still pondering if the other school is an international school where a lot of the parents work or are international students at the university. Which means English may not be a first language but with educated parents I am presuming it won’t be much of an issue…

No judgement from me OP. We live in a mixed area of London where school demographics are skewed by a large number of church schools. Our nearest school is the only local community school, and has a much more challenging intake than the CofE/Catholic schools. We took the pragmatic choice to attend church for two years to get DD into a (still very mixed but more affluent) CofE school which is slightly further afield.

Lots of schools in deprived areas do amazing things with the children in them - brilliant value added scores etc. But we were concerned about funding - the community school is undersubscribed and struggles with parental engagement, and parents there just don’t have the time or resources to contribute in the same way as at DD’s school, so the PTA raises far less money for ‘extras’. Our DD doesn’t need the value added, or the extra focus on phonics or whatever she’d get at the community school - we want the music lessons and the trips and the nice facilities that the extra PTA funding provides.

I am also a former primary teacher, and know lots of teachers locally, including at our local school. Their reports of how tough it all was, socially and financially, and how in these days of insufficient government funding they were constantly trying to do so much with so little, were ultimately what made us to decide to go for the church school.

The system is broken, and in an ideal world of course I would prefer a more level playing field, with no church schools etc - but education is too important, and I’m not willing to allow my own DD be a sacrificial lamb in this scenario.

If you live in a deprived area, seems like a long shot to get your DC in a state school over in a nice area , of course again depends on the area, in London deprived and nice sit cheek by jowl

its basically like London. You can live in a multimillion pound property being overlooked by a rough tower block.

No judgement here either. We moved from a deprived area when DD was 3 to a better area, specifically in readiness of the school application. Area was more important to us than the Offsted rating.